Barnes & Noble nook

Barnes & Noble introduced a new version of their digital reader a couple of days ago. This new "Nook" will be in color, unlike previous readers which only displayed print in black letters on a white screen. We suspect other readers will follow closely with their own color versions.

 

If you're reading this (is that a dumb way to begin this sentence?!), you already know about digital reading. You also likely know that ebooks are now all the rage. Oprah Winfrey made a splash a couple of years ago when she promoted the Kindle, Amazon.com's version of a digital reader. Now there are multiple devices available, and prices continue to fall. Of course, a computer connected to the Internet has long had the capabilities that these newer devices have.

 

Why would a person be interested in an electronic reading device? Because it taps into a world of literature, adding a new level of convenience. You can shop for books using these devices and download whatever you'd like to read. Instead of having shelves full of books that you've read (and may never read again), you have only a handheld device, able to open any of the "books" you've downloaded. You can also download hundreds of the older classics for free.

 

In a July 19, 2010 story in the New York Times, Amazon announced that sales of ebooks are now outpacing sales for hardcover books. For every 100 hardcover books sold in the three previous months, 143 ebooks were sold. That type of trend has been noted by other major sellers of books. It has led some to ask if books will survive. Some libraries are already making significant cuts in their purchases of "hands-on" books.

 

And what about "the" book, the Bible? Does all of this suggest that one day the Bible will no longer enjoy its place as the best-selling book of all time? Will it even exist in the future?

 

I'm not a predictor of future events, but I do know something Jesus stated clearly: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away" (Luke 21:33). According to Jesus, God's word will be around for a long time.

 

Peter reaffirmed this claim in 1 Peter 1:23-25: "... having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because 'All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.'"

 

Does this mean that hardcover and leather-bound copies of the Bible will continue to grace the shelves of bookstore? I can't predict that (though I feel that there will always be a place for printed books). The important thing, however, is not the medium, but the message. Whether I read from a papyrus parchment, a printed page or a digital device, it's God's message that has power.

 

Words on a page have no power at all until they are transferred into our hearts. That's what James urged: "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls" (James 1:21). No, God's word is not endangered. But a human soul without God's saving word? That's a scene of impending doom!

 

Timothy D. Hall.